Mr. Millepied, who has created two works for the Paris Opera Ballet and has a third commissioned for next season, said he did not plan to prioritize his own choreography in his programming. The core of his artistic vision, he said, would be a strong focus on contemporary ballet repertory.

The same position was held from 1983 to 1989 by Rudolf Nureyev. The Russian superstar choreographed ballets that are still in the company repertoire and performed each year. He spotted talents such as Sylvie Guillem who went on to become international stars. One Nureyev protege -- Laurent Hilaire, currently Lefevre’s deputy -- had been viewed as a potential successor until today’s nomination.

Benjamin Millepied, the "Black Swan" choreographer who helped transform Natalie Portman into an obsessed, paranoid ballerina for the film and later married the actress, was named director of the Paris Opera Ballet on Thursday.

Filin underwent surgery Tuesday to address his facial injuries and was scheduled to have a second eye operation Wednesday. Initially, he was going to be flown to Brussels for burn treatment but remains under the care of Russian doctors who say his eyes are his priority.

Portman and the French dancer-choreographer, who met on the set of Black Swan, welcomed their bundle of joy in June 2011.They later tied the knot in August 2012 in a Jewish ceremony in front of family and friends in the coastal California region of Big Sur.

Enlarging the company's Balanchine-based repertoire is a top mission, as is bringing her New York-based Morphoses company to Miami as a choreographic think tank. She hopes to add current choreography by Lars Lubovitch (whose "Elemental Brubeck" was in Ballet Florida's repertoire), Christopher Wheeldon, Crystal Pite and Nacho Duato.

"I don't want to say too much, but you see what's on my desk," she said with a sly smile, glancing at a folio from "West Side Story."

Then, at last, there was "Euphotic," the new work Scarlett choreographed for the company to Lowell Leibermann's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2. "Euphotic" is meant, Scarlett has said, to follow "Viscera," which he choreographed for this same company last year. This one is brighter in tone, thanks in part to Scarlett's ombred stage panels that shift from blue to gold, and in brighter, sun-yellow costumes for the principals — on Tuesday, Jeanette Delgado and Kieber Rebello.

It also has the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, with the ballet's Francisco Renno as soloist and Gary Sheldon conducting; all of them turning in strong performances that stand on their own.

When choreographer Peter Quanz arrived in Ulan-Ude, capital city of the Russian state of Buryatia, in the depths of winter to work with the local ballet company, the dancers asked him if he’d ever been anywhere that cold before. He said “Yes, Winnipeg.”

But that was the only familiar thing about Buryatia, a Russian state bordering Mongolia that boasts a rich mix of ethnic culture and a classically trained ballet troupe.

The questions from journalists were on the polite side. What did he think about the Nureyev versions of the big classical ballets that the Opera performs? (Part of the Opera’s tradition, he’ll keep them. At least for now.) Will he bring an entourage? (No.) How exactly would opera and ballet be linked? (No concrete details revealed yet.) How long was his contract for? (Open-ended.) And then, the question that everyone wanted to ask. Why had Mr. Lissner chosen an outsider? Mr. Lissner dismissed the insider/outsider dichotomy, saying it was the vision of the candidate that mattered.